The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has traditionally subsidized aging research funded by several NIH Institutes, Federal Agencies and private Foundations, by allowing grantees of those institutes/agencies/foundations access to the NIA aged rodent colonies. While the NIA values this collaborative contribution to the field of aging research, it carries a burden, both in the fiscal contribution and in the management of the colonies. In 2006, increased demands on the NIA aged rodent colonies required the NIA to implement restrictions on the use of the aged rodent colonies for an indefinite period of time. Due to increases in the entry levels into the NIA aged rodent colonies, the colonies have recovered sufficiently to allow a broader use by the aging research community. The revised policy still restricts use of the colonies to projects that are directly related to aging, but opens them to projects funded by a variety of federal and non-profit organizations. It also provides for the use of the colonies by investigators who do not have active funding but are in the process of revising grant applications to the NIH.